A lot of stuff happened this week. Which headline grabbed you by the lapels?A lot of stuff happened this week. Which headline grabbed you by the lapels?

ROBBIE M, 52, WEST VILLAGE, NEW YORK

What’s news?

The “Balloon Boy” story was pretty wild, but I think the dad might have set it all up.

Do you think these stories distract us from greater issues?

You mean like starving people, or the state of the nation? I know there’s lots of starving people all over the world but maybe we should take care of our own, first.

Close the borders?

No, I just mean, we have all these programs for helping foreign disaster victims, but what about the disaster victims at home? The Hurricane Katrina folks are still in a bad way. If you want to break down the borders you should have the world as one big country.

You think that’ll work?

Maybe then people would spread the food around a little more.

What do you think about cute hipster girls wearing your hat?

My raccoon-skin cap? Are you calling me a hipster?

Not at all.

ROY GERALD, 78, YORKSVILLE, NEW YORK

I’m reading about the Phillies in the sports section. Baseball is one of my interests.

Would you tell me about the game coming up?

Oh, the Yankees and one of the Dodger teams. There are two Dodger teams from California.

There are two? What do you mean?

I mean, they carry the same name but they have different managers.

There used to be the Dodgers from New York, right?

It was a long time ago when they were out of Brooklyn. I remember those guys when they were still in the playoffs. Let’s see if I can find some coverage. It should be around here somewhere.

Did you grow up playing baseball?

When I was younger I was quite a good hitter. I was invited to try out with the Giants, when they were in New York, and the Chicago Cubs.

That must have been really exciting.

I guess when you’re a kid, yes, but it wasn’t that exposed to the public because there wasn’t any television. Anyway, I wasn’t that interested because the military called me and I had to put in a couple years. When I got out I went back to school and studied architecture. That was that.

JIMMY WEBB, EAST VILLAGE, NEW YORK

What headline has grabbed your attention?

Iggy Pop was in town doing a book-signing—I think that’s pretty newsworthy. He called me up, actually. He said, “Hey, I’m coming to New York and I’d like to take you out for a Coke.” A Coke. That’s awesome. That’s a class act. I met him at his hotel and we had a Coke. OK, truthfully, the Coke turned out to be a Saratoga sparkling water. But sitting there with Iggy Pop, everything tastes sweet and charged with caffeine.

How did you meet?

He’s just rolled into my life, just like everybody. I’ve walked the streets for so long. It’s New York and a lot of magic can happen. I’ve worked here at Trash & Vaudeville for ten years, and I’ve been on St. Mark’s since 1975. Although I’m from a little hillbilly town upstate, I came here with my clothes in a pillowcase from Florida. And that brings me back to Iggy, who lives there! He said, “It’s pretty cold. Can you bring me a coat?” He was even wearing sandals!

Ew.

I hate sandals, too, but Iggy Pop can do no wrong.

Have you read his book yet?

I haven’t. I did run to Barnes & Noble to see the pictures and it’s pretty amazing. I thought I had seen every picture of Iggy Pop, but there are a lot in there I’d never seen. Early ones where they’re hanging out in that hotel and are writing and recording songs, like TV Eye, like early-early Stooges. The book’s progression is great—all the way to present-day Iggy. But you know what, I don’t talk to Iggy about music. I talk to him about basic life things.

Is that a matter of not wanting to put a celebrity like him on a pedestal?

That’s an amazing question and nobody really asks me that. I have a lot of rock star friends. I have a lot of movie star friends. But I don’t ask them anything about that because everyone asks them about that. If I’m talking to Slash or Iggy or whoever, it’s like, “What did you have for breakfast?” Everyone is trying to show them their tape, but there is one great New York band I want to introduce to both Slash and Iggy. They are very newsworthy, and they’re named Thriller. Don’t type it into a search engine because you’ll just get Michael Jackson. I don’t use a computer because I only handwrite people.

You don’t tweet?

Tweet? No, dude, I’m not that important. Who wants to hear about how I wiped my ass or how I had scrambled eggs for breakfast?

Iggy and Slash.

Actually I had pumpkin pancakes today. Every gift I give is handmade, because that’s what I do. I sit at home with a glue-stick under black light, Christmas lights, and a candle burning. That’s what I like because it keeps me warm and when I make things I have a ball.

Do you keep the black light on when you wash dishes?

I don’t cook! God made restaurants for a reason—I’m a New Yorker.

What kind of music is Thriller?

Straight-up old school punk rock. Now, I’m real emotional—I guess that’s why I like Iggy for all the raw power, the truth and energy. Once I traveled all the way to Brooklyn—

—“All the way”? It’s like half a mile across the bridge.

Well, I live in Manhattan, so it’s far! I live New York City. I mean, I love Brooklyn, I love Queens…

I think we’re talking about the same city.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. But I like the whole fucking island thing, you know. Here we’re surrounded by water.

Brooklyn and Queens are—

—OK, OK. So I took the train to Brooklyn with my little directions written out to a Thriller show and when I got there, Oh. My. God. The energy there that was so real-deal—it was something I hadn’t seen since the 70s—something real and pure. Tonight I’m going to see the Horrors but tomorrow night I’m going to see Thriller at the Ding Dong Lounge on the Upper West Side. The Thrillers’ tape is the tape I’m giving to Iggy and to Slash.

And these are young kids?

Yeah, like 19, 20. It’s the energy that’s so real. It was almost as pleasurable an experience as getting kissed on the lips by Marianne Faithfull with she held my face in my hands. Awesome. It’s like being naked. Fucking naked. Thriller’s got that energy.

How do you know who Jim Greco and Dustin Dollin are?

[gasps] I love Jim Greco. And Dustin’s awesome! Dustin, I hope you’re not drinking so much anymore. I know these guys because I’m here and people bring them because they always want me to meet them. I don’t know that whole skater thing, but I had seen pictures of Jim and I always wanted to meet him. Look, I have Duane Peters tattooed on my arm [pulls up sleeve].

That’s gnarly.

Yeah. I asked his permission before I put it there. You have to know a person before you do something like this.

So you put it there for his music more than his pool-skating.

It was for what the essence of what the U.S. Bombs used to be and represent. That’s real-deal old school punk rock. But that seems to have self-destructed. Self-destruction is not attractive, and it’s not punk rock. You know who wins? The last man standing. Jimmy Greco will win because he pulled himself up from the depths of hell so he could skate like a motherfucker and walk down the street with fuckin’ pride.

And in high heels.

Yeah! Fuck yeah!

Have you heard Jim Greco’s music?

No. See? I don’t lie. I just haven’t had time. Actually I have Johnny Thunders’ rosary beads off his neck—somebody thought they should be with me—and I have a great photocopy of them for Jim but I haven’t mailed them yet. That’s giving him love. I won’t give him the beads because I don’t love him that much.

-PETER MADSEN

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